Japan’s first modern rifle, The Murata Bolt Action,Before the adoption of the Murata Japan was
Japan’s first modern rifle, The Murata Bolt Action,Before the adoption of the Murata Japan was entirely reliant on foreign imports for its supply of weapons and firearms. In 1880 the Murata was adopted, which was a single shot bolt action rifle based off of French and German designs. It fired an 11×60mmR blackpowder cartridge. Later models were made with 5 or 8 round tubular magazines which used an 8×53mmR cartridge.The Murata was a simple but effective rifle, a good weapon for Japan’s new Imperial Army which was drawn from peasant conscripts, many of whom had never fired a gun before. They would see combat in the first Sino-Japanese War, the Boxer Rebellion, and the Russo-Japanese War. Some were refurbished and issued to secondary, homeguard, and police units in WWI and WWII. Others were converted into sporting shotguns. -- source link
#guns#firearms#rifles#japan#antiques#weapons